What's new
The Front Row Forums

Register a free account today to become a member of the world's largest Rugby League discussion forum! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Rumours and Stuff

Eelementary

Post Whore
Messages
58,859
I hate to say it, because I've said it for years - but we need patience.

There is quality in our lower ranks - Fletcher, Talataina, Petrus, Koina, Talagi, Koinakis....

For the first time in a long time, we have some genuine prospects in our juniors.

Problem is, we have an ordinary First Grade side.
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
101,292
We don't overpay mate at all, it's not what the smart clubs do. Signing no one of any quality means you never overpay or fully use the cap.
You have to use 97.5% of the cap. It's the rules.

 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
101,292
The thing is they developed

Yeo,Edwards,Too,Crighton,Cleary,

Id argue the current games best or atleast top 3 Fullback,Lock,winger,centre and halfback...

Add guys like Martin,Luai,Mclean,JFH,Kikau
Who would all be top 5 in their positions.

What are the chances of doing that again? I'd say 1 in 100,000.

If we produced 2-3 genuine origin players id be stoked.
Just like the Eels teams of the 80s, the fact they all play together makes them each look better than they are. That's why they come back to Earth when they play Origin, or chase the money at another club.

If you have enough players who are a 7/10, they all look like they are a 9+
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
101,292
Sure agree. I think we will develop some good kids also. But the chances of developing 10 origin level guys ? Im Sceptical. It's almost impossible so using Penrith is a poor example.
If you can develop three genuine Origin level players (e.g. To'o, Cleary, Yeo) then a few of your solid first graders will also get picked when Origin selectors are trying to decide between 30+ options to fill out the squad (e.g. Edwards, Martin, Luai).
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
101,292
Time will tell. Like I said if the club really wanted Fletcher and Lorenzo and rated them long teem then why were they offering Pezet 4yrs whilst Moses has another 4yrs after this one. To me that's a worry. Had we got him do we then lose these kids for Pezet who at this stage looks average?
TDS looks average and im wondering if he was a panic buy after missing out on Galvin to save face.

Im unsure what the clubs plans are atm.
I disagree. Pezet and TDS are both certainties to become NRL players. TDS could become Origin class.
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
101,292
The game is now literally tackle touch footy.
Its a fast man's game.
You cant have afford to have slow cumbersome players.
They need to be quick, agile, endurance and stamina.
That's why I think having the young bulls in getting 1st grade experience with better years ahead of them is better than having blokes like JDB in.
Also having bought Pezet for 1 yr i think will go down as one of the most stupidest recruitment decisions ever...its a lose lose situation.
If he plays well he leaves with all our IP. If he plays crap you have stopped Joash or whoever from getting 10-15-20 games of valuable first grade experience.
I would get it Pezet was Munster or Dearden or Luai. You know origin/international/ GF winning half..this makes zero sense..
It was a panic buy with no upside
Pezet is already a solid first grader, who could be the difference between playing finals or not.
 

Johnny88

Juniors
Messages
1,704
FATHER TIME
It’s only Round 1, yes, but Daly Cherry-Evans looked every bit his 37 years on Friday night against the Warriors.
In an unhappy Roosters debut, Cherry-Evans missed two tackles which led to Warriors tries and didn’t clean up a kick which led to another try.
The Roosters rarely get recruitment wrong - and it will take time for DCE to settle into his new digs - but there were some concerning signs there for all to see.

Daly Cherry-Evans had a debut to forget for the Chooks. Picture: Phil Walter/Getty Images
Cherry-Evans is physically and mentally tough but this was a performance that may make Roosters fans just a tad nervous after his much-hyped transfer.
The Roosters also drew criticism on social media for constantly questioning referee Wyatt Raymond during the loss. To be fair, the Roosters lost the penalty count 11-4 and the set restarts 6-4.

NRL: The Fox League team look at where expectations are now for the Wahs, and the concerning signs for the Roosters!
TITANS’ DES-TINY
So it wasn’t Des Hasler’s fault after all. Gold Coast was absolutely pathetic in their first half against Cronulla.
The Titans conceded six tries, missed 14 tackles and kicked dead-on-the-full in a diabolic display which saw the Sharks ahead 34-0 at the break. It hit 40-0 before Gold Coast showed any resistance.
Punting Hasler last year after just 46 games was supposed to fix all the club’s problems.
One day Gold Coast will learn that the easy option - sacking their coach – doesn’t simply resolve all issues.


 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
101,292
Your mistake is assuming that he is arguing in good faith

you are advocating for an improved squad and sustained success, just like most on here

Pou and his Pouciples could care less about these things, in fact the troll prefers it when the club is struggling and when we are laden with mediocrity - firstly it fuels his endless circular arguments and allows him to troll and mock parra fans…secondly, he thinks our continued mediocrity justifies his endless position that there was never a better option than BA, the prick literally lives for this fight!
Stick to talking footy and legal advice.
 

Soto

First Grade
Messages
5,946
Pezet is already a solid first grader, who could be the difference between playing finals or not.
Hahaha 18 games...solid....Hahahahahaha.
Please. I give him 10-12 rounds before Ryles and co realise its an epic f up.
He plays 5/8 and wont run, no try assists, defensive liability.
I think hes a good 7 but there are stark differences between an organising and barking 7 to a 2nd foil 6.
Let's see how we all view Pezet after 6 rounds..I think we will all be saying the same thing..
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
101,292
Hahaha 18 games...solid....Hahahahahaha.
Please. I give him 10-12 rounds before Ryles and co realise its an epic f up.
He plays 5/8 and wont run, no try assists, defensive liability.
I think hes a good 7 but there are stark differences between an organising and barking 7 to a 2nd foil 6.
Let's see how we all view Pezet after 6 rounds..I think we will all be saying the same thing..
If you think he's a defensive liability, you don't understand the game. Once our middle collapsed, our edge defenders spent the rest of the game isolated. A defensive liability would've missed a lot more than three tackles on Thursday.
 

Soto

First Grade
Messages
5,946
If you think he's a defensive liability, you don't understand the game. Once our middle collapsed, our edge defenders spent the rest of the game isolated. A defensive liability would've missed a lot more than three tackles on Thursday.
Mate i understand the game much better than you having played and coached. You do make me laugh though.
I dont care what the stats say. Storm purposely ran traffic at him because they know his deficiencies. Let's park this and revisit in 6-8 weeks.
 

Timana

Juniors
Messages
1,628
Smaller forwards only work if all the team work like mad merkins in defense like the Dogs did last year, but then again in the big end of season games, a hard working big team will most times defeat a hard working smaller team, especially towards the end of the season when fatigue and injuries can be a real problem. That's why the dogs brought in Leo Thompson.

Size matters, you can get away with a lot of sub par team moments and efforts if you have a big and powerful team with a quality spine and some genuine pace out wide.

We have the hardest position to have real quality in covered in our 7, but we don't seem to realise he will only ever be as good as the men up front allow him to be. There have been so many quality FR's to poach over the last 3 years alone and we have gotten NONE! It wouldn't of mattered who else we lost other then our 7 to fit them in. As it stands today, the only players I would not let go of to buy 2 top shelf front rowers, would be Moses, Iongi, Junior on a much reduced contract, and big Sam T.

Any other player in the squad is expendable at this point to give us real thrust and power up front and from there I would build accordingly. Power and aggression up front first, then sort the rest with what we got or from outside. When Moses finally leaves us, we will all lament the ten year lost opportunity, that we will in my opinion, not have for many years again unless we get real lucky.

Remember it did take us 30 odd years to get a quality 7 that lasted more then 3 years since Sterlo, so what are the chances we find another top line one again fast? It's just not the Parra way. :(
I do agree with assessment.

On the next tier for mine would be Fox and Riley - though I guess is expendable.
I am surprised JR hasn't take the Melbourne plan. The Spine who can play eyes up with the rest just doing their job.

In our team, eveyone can play eyes up which I dont agree with
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
101,292
Mate i understand the game much better than you having played and coached. You do make me laugh though.
I also played and coached. Played J grade at Ollie Webb and also coached under 7s there.
I dont care what the stats say. Storm purposely ran traffic at him because they know his deficiencies. Let's park this and revisit in 6-8 weeks.
Moses attempted more tackles than Pezet, Williams attempted more than Kautoga and Kelly attempted more than Penisini. It looked to me like they attacked both sides fairly equally. Their halves even handled the ball equally.
 

Johnny88

Juniors
Messages
1,704

The Tackle: Jonah Pezet had his weaknesses exposed against Melbourne - and Michael Maguire will be taking notes​

If there’s one coach who knew how to exposes Jonah Pezet’s weaknesses, it’s Craig Bellamy, who spoiled the youngster’s Eels debut against his former team with a dominant display.

Brisbane coach Michael Maguire has been handed the blueprint to unsettle his future halfback Jonah Pezet on Thursday night - unleash Jordan Riki.
Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy seemingly gave back rower Joe Chan one job against Parramatta, and that was to terrorise his former teammate Pezet.
Like a cruise missile, Chan made a beeline for Pezet on both sides of the ball.
Chan even made sure to get in Pezet’s face after a knock on early in the first half and lined him up in defence at every chance he got.

Even when Pezet stood his ground, making a try-saving legs tackle on Chan, the back rower was able to get a quick play the ball away leading to a Will Warbrick try.
The extra attention would no doubt be demoralising for any young playmaker.

Riki will line-up on Pezet’s edge when the Broncos attempt to get their campaign back on track against Parramatta at Suncorp Stadium.
If Riki can take a leaf out of Chan’s book, he’ll go a long way in unnerving the young playmaker and Parramatta’s attack.

SET RESTARTS FALL FLAT
The NRL’s tweak to the set restart rule has fallen flat among diehard fans.
In the opening eight games this season, there was a total of 64 restarts or an average of eight per game.
That is almost double the number of set restarts awarded in Round 1 last year, according to Code Sports Stats, and the average per game was just 4.63 restarts.
The increase in restarts is on the back of a change that the ARLC approved in February.
Previously, ruck infringements beyond the 40-metre line would trigger a set restart but this year the threshold is the 20-metre line, effectively giving referees more scope to award repeat sets.
There were stark swings in momentum in the opening round, including in Canberra’s golden-point win over Manly. The Sea Eagles bolted to a 14-0 lead on the back of four consecutive set restarts but as soon as Raiders had the rub of the green, the momentum was with Canberra who were able to claw back the difference.
The NRL’s desire to speed up the game could be argued as having a detrimental impact on the overall contest, so too the ability of referees to potentially sway momentum, and that teams on the receiving end of the infringements struggling to wrestle back any ascendancy without the leg up of a restart in their favour.
One solution would be to limit set restarts to the first or second tackle of an attacking set, with infringements there after awarded a penalty when warranted.

 

Latest posts

Top